#Chicago Dyke March

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

If I had a nickel for every time someone here said my existence as a bisexual Jewish Israeli is “pink washing “….

Our experiences and mere existence aren’t wrong or distracting.

One thing that especially bothers me about the Chicago D*ke March is the implication that LGBT Jews merely existing is inherently pinkwashing. It politicizes LGBT Jewish identities by stating that all LGBT Jews exist to distract people from the Israel/Palestine conflict. And that is entirely antisemitic and a gross misrepresentation of LGBT Jews.

[thelonelyjew]

Pride banned Jews?!?

So it's that time of year again that I see people circulating stuff that is completely fabricated about what they imagine happened at Chicago Dyke March in 2017.

First, Dyke March is not Pride. It is not meant to be apolitical or single-issue. It is explicitly anti-imperialist, anticapitalist, and, yes, antizionist. It's not the big mainstream pride Parade that has corporate sponsors (and ads for gay tourism in Israel), it's a small radical grassroots demonstration.

Ok now that that's out of the way, they did not "ban Jews". I was there. They did not "ban Jewish symbols". They did not ask anyone to leave because of their Jewish pride flag.

What actually happened was three women who turned out to be employed by Israeli pinkwashing operation A Wider Bridge participated in the march with a rainbow flag that featured a blue star of david in the center. I remember seeing it and disliking it bc it gave me Zionist vibes but neither I nor anyone else bothered them about it.

After the march there was a cookout in the park. The women were asked to leave by a Jewish member of the Dyke March Collective after several hours of hanging out at the cookout because they were harassing other marchgoers.

Immediately publications like Forward, Tablet, JTA, as well as more mainstream publications started running stories making wild untrue claims which you can still read if you Google it because none of these were ever corrected or retracted. It's clear that these AWB agents had press releases pre-written and ready to fire as soon as they managed to provoke any reaction that they could spin into a controversy.

The photos that ran along with these headlines were also misleading. One of them showed a photo of a rainbow flag with a white star in the center. The star on the flag I saw was blue, and the shade of the star has specific political connotations. Showing a different flag with the politically significant color removed is extremely misleading. The one that was carried in the march (and which, again, wasn't banned!) looked like this:

Another banner image, this one in a New York Times article, showed a young woman with dark curly hair holding a sign that says "this is who we are". She was clearly chosen to feature because of her stereotypically Jewish features. The article implies that she is one of the supposedly banned Jews. This is false. You know how I know? Bc that was the friend I was there with that day! She does not identify as Jewish, she looks like that bc she is Italian, and she had no idea she was being photographed!

I had a hat decorated with red and black stars of David, and the following year a bunch of us wore Workers Circle sashes with Yiddish text (which uses the Hebrew alphabet) as well. No one who wasn't employed by a Zionist organization was asked to leave or even questioned about anything related to Zionism or Jewish identity.

I'm resigning myself to the fact that this is going to get dug up and passed around every year and people will believe what they want to believe, but if you hear claims that some queer group "banned Jews" or something similar, please look at the source for the information and if possible try to talk to actual Jewish people who participate in the community events being discussed. And if you hear this about Chicago Dyke March in specific, please correct people. I feel like I'm going insane when this many people are insisting that what I saw and experienced wasn't real and pointing to the barrage of misleading articles as what I should believe over my own experiences.

[vexnatos]

leftist antisemitism isn't new, especially in america.

this was back in 2017

2017

[genderkoolaid]

so hey, i've been a follower of yours for quite some time, and i think it's highly concerning that you reblogged posts arguing that "zionist" and variations on that word are antisemitic, somehow.

i think it's a shame that we are failing to address how israel's crimes are often obscured by ill intentioned tone-policing, seeking to disregard the very valid concerns over the legitimacy of the state of israel and its colonialist practices.

someone could use their criticism of israel as a way to promote their antisemitic beliefs, obviously, but zionism has a bad connotation not because it relates to jewish people, but because it closely relates to the defense and promotion of apartheid and genocide in israel.

to say that "zio" or whatever variation there is on the word "zionist" is, undeniably, a slur is an attempt to use jewish people and their plight to shield a very oppressive state and its supporters. i usually like your takes, but this one seemed a bit out of character.

"Zio" =/= "zionist" or "zionism." Its not fair to conflate the use of "zio" with the use of "zionism"; you can be opposed to one and be fine with the other.

The abbreviation of "zio" in particular is associated with far-right antisemitism. The linked article in that post discusses how it was popularized by the former grand wizard of the KKK. I personally have seen it used in antisemitic contexts for years and frankly, felt it was common knowledge that "zio" was a slur associated with the right.

In order for anti-Zionism to not be actively anti-semitic, you have to actually care about Jewish people. It is not at all necessary to use the abbreviation of "zio" once you know it's far-right associations. It is not necessary to Palestinian liberation. I got another anon (which was much more hostile) that, similarly to this one, ignored the specific context of "zio" and acted as though the term is just a shortening of zionism/zionist, when that is not what is being criticized. At least, that's not why I am criticizing it.

On top of the examples in the article, here's "zio" being used on Stormfront in 2004:

And on the "Jew World Order" website:

Further examples from David Duke's website over the years:

Hell, even the Chicago Dyke March eventually apologized for their use of it, citing its "violent history." So there are anti-Zionists who have simply recognized that it's not a great abbreviation to use.

It is not tone-policing to ask that people not use a specific term due to it's association with the far-right. "Zio" is not necessary to discuss the crimes of Israeli colonialism. This stance is not, as the other anon put it, "against the [pro-palestinian] movement to its core." It's not just a "variation" anymore than theyfab is "just a term made up to describe transmisogynistic nonbinary people." There's real harm behind these words, real reasons to avoid using them, and they are entirely unnecessary for addressing the actual issues.

When you know "zio" in this context, or if you've been on the receiving end of violence where it was used, it is entirely reasonable to be opposed to it. Jews are not tone-policing for being disturbed by its usage. Anti-zionism can only be non-antisemitic to the extent that people put in the work to unlearn antisemitism and actively oppose it. Not using "zio" helps distinguish between pro-Palestinian anti-Zionism, and anti-Jewish anti-Zionism, something that is only beneficial for the movement.

[amaditalks]

The organizers didn’t just try to blame Jews, they actually used the antisemitic slur “zio” on their social media. That’s not a common slur in the US, and was even less so at the time, and was mostly heard from people like David Duke or used on white supremacist Internet forums and sites like Stormfront. The excuses for why they used that word have never passed muster either.

why would you be unsafe at pride

I'm going to assume this question is asked in good faith and with a genuine interest in my safety. I'm also going to be very direct and blunt.

Jewish people are being targeted and attacked worldwide. Not just in right-wing spaces, but also leftist spaces. And yes that includes Pride and queer related events. If I want to attend pride wearing my kippah and my magen david, there is a good chance I will have some unpleasant words thrown at me, at the very least. There is a chance I will be physically attacked and/or kicked out of the march.

I would recommend spending more time listening to Jewish people on their struggle with antisemitism in the present. I don't mean that as a snarky comment, I just think listening to minorities about their struggles is a crucial part of activism. Hope this answered your question! If you'd like to ask more questions, feel free to reach out again, either in my ask box or my DMs

[blachernaepalace]

because the usual idiots (@spacelazarwolf and @magnetothemagnificent) have decided to be chauvinists, as is their wont, i'm gonna debunk these tired claims.

no, neither chicago dyke march nor dc dyke march kicked out anyone or banned any symbols on the basis of judaism. the three jewish women kicked out from the chicago march were LITERALLY zionist propagandists (one of them works for an org whose sole purpose is pinkwashing israel!).

the "jewish pride flag" banned from dc dyke march is literally just the rainbow flag with a blue star of david in the center. i mention that it is blue because the star of david on the israeli flag is blue, and said star is also clearly meant to be in the same spot as the israeli flag. there were myriad different positions or symbols to choose from, such as a necklace with a star of david, the choice to wave a flag that mirrors the israeli flag was absolutely intentional.

i also want to point out that the two men here are intentionally choosing to paint two organizations that prominently feature lesbians of color, organizations with a strong focus on combating imperialism, as the face of LGBT antisemitism. you can draw your own conclusions as to why this choice was made.

sources for my statements can be found here and here.

[beardedmrbean]

Hi, do you know any Jewish gen x and millennials? Because I just, wondering how their dealing with the left handling of the Palestine-Israel conflict. Because I would go “Is this the hatred my elders was warning me about?”

How can one cope, after dealing with the generational trauma of a event that created the term genocide only for people that supposedly said “never again” to go and speak the same way the Nazis spoke about your people.

I forget how to pronounce this one, it'll sum up the response you'd get from most of the community though I think.

______________

Gen-X and older millennials in my observation have been bracing for this for a while now, I don't have any Jewish friends I regularly chat with at the moment most are way too busy but I try to keep an eye on as many people as I can and let them know I'm available if they need something, anything I can do at all.

One of the ones I see the most was already a cynical bastard who loves a fight so he's looking to have a good time shitting on people for being ignorant. ___________

Posted this yesterday, probably going to be a fairly common sentiment that folks are getting, but it's been building for a while even if others that don't pay attention haven't seen it.

Remember the dyke march?

But hey at least the exclude the people that will brutally kill you for being gay right?

Same happened at the women's march too, they had to get rid of most of the leadership because they had too much in common with nazis.

oh and

One marcher defended the flags in a post on the Chicago Dyke March Facebook page. “The flags that ‘triggered’ people were NOT a flag of the modern state of Israel, they are PRIDE flags adorned with the star of David. The star of David is, first and foremost, a Jewish symbol, long before the modern state of Israel was even a thought. It’s been a symbol of the Jewish people for centuries, and those marching put it on their flags to represent their intersectionality as LGTBQ+ JEWS. They were not using the dyke march to show support of Israel. They were not making a political statement regarding it. They were simply displaying who they are and that their religious faith is part of their identity. Removing those flags, and the people who marched with it, shows a deep level of ignorance, and yes, it also shows antisemitism masquerading as liberal values,” the post said.

Then as if that wasn't bad enough (you can only be a good gay if you're willing to hide the fact that you're Jewish I guess)

We've also got the current betrayal, or mask off moment at least.

_______________________

This all isn't just to try and change anyone's minds about Israel or palestine mind you, since all of this is pretty well known it's not likely to do that anyhow, so no real point in trying anymore.

But like I've said many have had a chance to brace for this, to some extent, given the lead up to it and the whole thing with the last little warlett a couple years back.

This all ends the Jewish community is not likely to put up with folks wanting them to go back to being Schrödinger's POC, to be used as a cudgel when someone puts a horn in a video game, I think the phrase "The Jews are Tired" will be replaced with 'The Jews Are Done With Your Shit' or something like that.

Gonna take a bit for some of the younger ones to shake off the feelings of betrayal from communities that claimed to be accepting of them, and then added conditions that nobody else had. ______________________

I know I have a bunch of Jewish followers here, I would love to get a personal perspective from you if you have something you'd like to add.

Regardless of all the hatemail and threats I've gotten over the years I will continue to keep my inbox available for anonymous asks if you want to go that way too.

Sorry this took so long, deleted and redid it several times, still not totally happy with it but oh well at this point. lol

[hyenaswine]

remember a few years ago when those jews got kicked out of dyke march chicago for carrying a rainbow flag with a magen david on it (which dumb goyim decided was "the israeli flag") & then AFTERWARDS they found out that one of them really WAS a zionist & therefore it was okay that they'd been kicked out for a magen david before anybody even had any proof or evidence? anyway it's cool here in leftist spaces

[a-very-tired-jew]

There's more to their post and it's not any better.

Fig. 1. Continuation of NYC Dyke March statement about their now deleted antisemitism IG post

Fig. 1. Hides something we have all talked about behind progressive Leftist jargon and not so subtly positions the authors of the original statement as racists. But what it implies is that there were heated words and instead of accepting the authors' concerns and high emotions they instead dismiss them as defensive and automatically negatively label them and their actions. Before 10/7 I might have accepted this narrative of Black committee members being dismissed, but since 10/7 I honestly view anything that specifically tries to reduce antisemitism under the guise of "minorities were dismissed" as suspicious. It gets into the tone policing issue we have talked about where progressives and Leftist organizations and people do not see Jews as a minority group and therefore allow them to be insulted, harassed, and threatened and when they attempt to address said behavior it's dismissed and/or regarded as racist/bigoted. They especially allow it when the minorities that they do acknowledge are openly antisemitic and hateful.

Fig. 2. Continuation of NYC Dyke March Statement

Fig. 2. Contains the usual genocide rhetoric that myself and others have thoroughly addressed (In short: it's not a genocide and does not fit the criteria for it, even the ICJ says it's not). It also contains the whole "anti-Zionism is not antisemitism" rhetoric while engaging in antisemitic behavior, rhetoric, and conspiracy themselves (continuing to push the genocide narrative is antisemitic conspiracy at this point). It denies the long standing and well established connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism to appeal to a larger violently and rabidly antisemitic audience who don't want to admit it.

I said it once and I'll say it again, it's intersectional antisemitism.

so apparently the nyc dyke march account made a post saying that jews are safe to participate this time,

and then deleted it and took it back.

the absolute GALL to take back a post like this and call it "harmful". I'm just in shock. do they not fucking hear themselves.

[drdemonprince]

Hi Devon! I’m new to the Chicagoland area, and my awesome comic-loving trans nephew is coming to visit in a couple of weeks from his home in Mississippi. As someone new to the area, I have no idea where he might meet other trans and geeky folks, and I really want to make sure that he gets a chance to feel seen and see other people like him. You seem to like a lot of the same kinds of stuff he does. Where would you suggest we go during his visit?

Thanks! 💗

CAKE, the chicago alternative comics expo, is June 3 and 4 at the broadway armory! and if he's here in June there will be no shortage of other Pride events to check out. My friend Devin Whitlock is also doing a panel on queerness in comics at the chicago public library in the middle of the month. Beyond that all manner of events in Boystown/northhalsted, andersonville, the dyke march on the south side etc. Lots going on this time of year.

[apocalypticautumn]

source, you fucking pussy

1. If you're asking about the fact that the term "zio" was popularized by a former kkk leader, (this is just a guess, when you ask something without context no one knows what you're talking about) you can find it here:

[blachernaepalace]

one myth that gets spread around even in non-zionist spaces is that chicago dyke march kicked out people solely for having jewish symbols, but actually reading into the matter reveals that said people were kicked out for actively opposing palestinian liberation, one of the people kicked out was even a member of an israeli lobbying group! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VG2cPkufLCFVSv4DmvRbOSQnzMdUt7so8AlrQHcXSyA/pub

[eretzyisrael]

The Chicago Dyke March, an annual LGBT parade that in 2017 ejected marchers carrying flags with Jewish symbols, promoted its upcoming event with an image showing the burning of Israeli and American flags.

The image depicted a woman standing atop a burning car holding the two flags, which were both shown in flames.

The Instagram promotional post was removed by the company for “hate speech or symbols,” in a warning that threatened to delete the group’s account.

The March responded by urging followers to capture a screenshot of the post, “and share to prevent any attempts by Z1ON1ST and Instagram to censor our account.”

Using numbers or other characters to deliberately misspell key terms is a common tactic on the web to skirt content moderation.

In a subsequent post, the Dyke March then altered the image, superimposing animated yellow and orange flames to conceal the two flags. The image was otherwise identical.

[evilwickedme]

Two years ago, I began blogging about antisemitism because of the Chicago Dyke March's antisemitism. Two years later, DC's Dyke March pulls the exact same shit. If you allow Palestinian flags, you can't claim that you don't allow nationalist symbols; if you allow Christian and Muslim flags with the exact same concept & design of center white symbol, you do not have any claim at all. This is antisemitism, plain and simple. DCDM can fuck the fuck off ✌️

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

After a video of New York University student Leen Dweik confronting Chelsea Clinton at the Christchurch, New Zealand, massacre vigil went viral in February, thousands of people dug through Dweik’s Twitter feed. What did they find? A bunch of slurs. Dweik quickly apologized for dropping the racist “N” word and homophobic “F” word. However, no apology came for publicly calling someone the white supremacist phrase “Zio.”

While it might seem like an innocent abbreviation of Zionist, “Zio” is a derogatory code word for Jews invented by white supremacists. Despite its right-wing extremist roots, the term has been re-popularized by anti-Israel activists, normalizing violent anti-Semitic vernacular among self-identified progressives.

In 2017, the Chicago Dyke March tweeted, “Zio tears replenish my electrolytes!” after it was criticized for removing participants who waved rainbow flags adorned with a Star of David. In 2016, a chairman of the Oxford University Labour Club resigned over the constant use of the term among his peers. Just type the word into Twitter advanced search and you’ll find it casually used by pro-Palestinian advocates and white supremacists alike.

A history of hate taints the term “Zio.”

[infiniteglitterfall]

Apparently this was the Philadelphia Pride March, on Sunday June 2.

Demonstrators stood in front of a drumline advancing toward the city’s "Gayborhood," a neighborhood which features rainbow signs and LGBT-owned businesses. The pro-Palestine protesters held banners opposing the march and denouncing Israel’s actions in its war against Hamas, according to videos on social media.

In one video, some Pride marchers can be seen arguing with the pro-Palestine demonstrators, appearing frustrated by their presence.

One pro-Palestine protester held a Pride flag overwritten with “No Pride in Genocide” and a red handprint while another banner linked a genocide in Sudan with conflicts in Palestine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to footage.

Another protester held up a sign reading, “Long Live the Intifada.” The demonstrators also recited pro-Palestine chants, shouting, “PPP, KKK, IOF are all the same,” referring to the Ku Klux Klan and Israel Defense Forces. It is unclear what the “PPP” chant referred to.

I am guessing that it stands for Philly Pride Parade. I... don't know how that would track, though.

Looks like the protest was from Queers 4 Palestine Philly, which posted a statement on Instagram extending "our solidarity to all those resisting colonial genocide around the world." 

"From Palestine to Sudan to the DRC to Ayiti, we call on queer people of conscience to ignite a global intifada against colonizers and capitalists who seek to use our identities, our beauty, our brilliance as justification for unimaginable violence. We reject all celebrations of pride if they are not grounded in the struggle to end genocide. We write this anti-pride statement as an honoring of the history of queer militant struggle against imperialism, outlined in the STAR Manifesto: ‘we are; a part of the REVOLUTIONARIES armies fighting against the system. POWER TO THE PEOPLE’" 

We can't have queer pride now?

We're in a country where far-right fundamentalist groups are working overtime to make it impossible for us to get an education. To get medical care. To have bodily autonomy. To fucking exist.

And instead of recognizing our solidarity and similarity with the queer people of Gaza. Boosting their voices and experiences. And talking about the fact that they live under a far-right fundamentalist group that (unlike Trump, at least so far) DID manage to overthrow its government and rule Gaza, if not all of Palestine, as a dictatorship....

We're. Uhh. Let me check my notes.

Completely silencing everyone IN Gaza. Doubly so for the queer Palestinians there, who already live without free speech and freedom of assembly and deserve actual outreach and solidarity as queer people.

Captioning our anti-pride statements with, "QUEER AS IN D34TH 2 AMERIKA. QUEER AS IN D34TH TO ISRAEL. QUEER AS IN OFF THE PIGS. LONG LIVE THE QUEER INTIFADA."

And chanting, "Now, now, now, now: Burn Israel to the ground."

If anybody is wondering why OP would call these protesters "antisemites" when they're clearly pro-Palestinian, not anti-Semitic, let me put it in a nutshell:

The population of Israel is 21% Arab Palestinians. Calling for it to be burned to the ground is not pro-Palestinian.

Half the Jews on earth live in Israel, and it is their indigenous homeland. Calling for it to be burned to the ground is antisemitic.

Brenda Fucking Howard, The Very Jewish Bi Poly Leather Mother Of Pride, is spinning in her goddamn GRAVE at this bullshit.

(Comparing the Philly Pride Parade to the KKK also seems wildly fucking cissexist and heterosexist, no matter who says it.)

Pride parade blocked by antisemites